Family Trip!!!
Wahooo!!! My family finally arrived---and I was totally stoked. This was the longest time I've spent away from home so it was so great to see them. Pulling up to the airport with Dave in my car, I really couldn't help but smile in anticipation and upon seeing them. After some hugs and talking, we headed out to begin our journey. Their trip of Penang can be seen at www.malaysianmayhem.blogspot.com. After a few days in Penang, we headed out to Bangkok for some city touring. We saw the Royal Palace, the Temple of the Rising Sun, and some other historic sites as well as some more touristy stuff. We went to a movie theater with sweet recliner seats, blankets, and a complimentary drink and watched 'Night at the Museum' which was a good family movie:-) We checked out a tailor so my dad could get his long-awaited-for cape, and my bro and I could get some pants and shirts. It was an altogether great experience. We next headed to Chiang Mai for some eco-tourism. We got to ride elephants, see some traditional villages, went to a night bazaare, and went to an elephant nature park where we learned about the dangers to elephants in Asia. There, we even got into the water with these huge elephants and washed them. It was a lot of fun! After Chiang Mai (which was the unanimous highlight of the trip for the fam) we went to beautiful Ko Phi Phi, an island in the south of Thailand. Although the weather on first day or two was kinda rainy, we enjoyed some massages, sudoku (my dad is a sudoku fiend), and reading. The weather cleared and we fit in some snorkelling (I went on one dive as well) and saw some beautiful fish in the clear water. Similar to Sarawak, there were also wooden pols on the sides of some cliffs to collect birds' nests to make the famous Chinese soup. Enjoy the pics and as always I love to hear from you!